Felt production

04 August 2013

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The main
and most stable element of arts and crafts of nomadic people is ornament. At the
beginning of the 20th century, it was described by the connoisseur of
ethnography of the Kazakh people G.N. Potanin. The Kazakh ornament, he noted,
"penetrates into all the stuff of the home environment; in yurt through
the hard-working housewife, every shred of felt, any piece of leather and every
single inch of wood surface is painted with ornament. The floor in yurts is
covered with felt on the white surface on which printed the pieces of black and
red cloth that were cut symmetrically. The rear wall is set out with chests in
felt covers; their surface is also decorated with patterns. Even the felts that
are covering the arch tent are painted with ornament. The Hardworking genius
transformed the yurt into an art gallery, more precisely in the exhibition of
ornaments" 27.

The most common products of masters are the patterned felts. Those are
the heavy tekemets with large patterns of spiral curls and syrmaki which are
implemented with technical mosaics and wall felt carpets (tuzkiizy) patterned
with fine applique, and numerous colorful felts on a blanket chests (sandyk
kapi), the tires on pillows (zhastyk kapi), bags for storing the utensils
(ayakkapy) . The woven fabric products from sheep and camel wool are also quite
popular: the multicolored ribbon with fringe (bau), the stripes (baskur) and
tracks (beldeu), the colorful rugs (alasha , takyr klem), pile carpets (tukti
klem), the saddle bags (korzhyn) and the saddle cloths for horses (am zhabu),
etc.

With all
the richness and variety of colorful world of ornamental art, we could see the familiar
to us from the ancient monuments of Kazakhstan geometric motifs, zoomorphic and
plant ornaments at various products made ​​of felt, wool, bone, wood, leather,
metal and ceramic. For example, such motives as a ram's horn - koshkar muyiz, the
bent inward curls - kiik muyiz, the cloven hoof - ashatuyak, camel trail -
tuetaban, bird's beak and the bird wing - kusmuryn, kuskanat, went into the
depths of the Saka period of time, based on the numerous subjects of once
vibrant animal style. By this time, should also include the appearance of
floral ornament, which apparently arose under the influence of the art of the
Middle East. The ancient solar and geometric motifs. In all kinds of triangles
- tumarsha, zigzag-iyrek, the rectangular shapes with spikes - tarak, the solar
patterns alike the swirl type socket - ayshik, we could see the traces of
prehistoric art pastoralists three thousand years old.

It will be naive to see in each pattern of modern arts
and crafts its ancient prototype. The arts and crafts of nomadic people is a
complex and diverse phenomenon of art in which the old tradition of art of a
people is constantly enriched by the close cultural and historical interaction
with neighboring peoples. Much of the old life, rituals and customs that
affected the earlier ornamental art, are now filed as a history. However, many stuff
that will meet the needs of the people in decorating clothing, housing, household
goods, has survived to this day. The semantics of ornaments or the meaning of
patterns, which saved the individual images of half-forgotten myths and beliefs
of the people, is still interesting evidence of a long tradition of arts and
crafts

The old masters still remember the ancient symbols
that were embedded in the name of some ornaments. Signs koshkar muyiz and
ashatuyak designated the material prosperity of the cattleman. If the clothes
was decorated with the tueban pattern (camel trail), it meant that the clothes
was sewn for a long road, if a person wish someone happiness, freedom and
independence, he then gifted the thing decorated with signs “kusmuryn" and
"kuskanat". The girls wear “kusmuryn zhuzik" or "shynzhyrly
blezik”, the rings on a chain, where one ring is a “bird’s beak” and another is
“bird wing”. The term "oyu" (to make things depper) is still used in
the art of manufacturing the patterned felts. The ornament on felt could be
prepared by instilling the pattern of another color. Nevertheless, the term
«oyu», the origin of which is associated with the ancient technique of rock art
and stone carving, preserved until today. The rich artistic heritage of the
Kazakh people, the well-developed ornamental art, the technical skills and a unique
color, all of them was widely used in the folk crafts of Kazakhstan.

Felt carpet - oyuly tekemet.

Application of
colored cloth, a fragment, the Chimkent region.

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